Rhubarb Triangle
noun phrase

- a triangular shaped area in West Yorkshire, England, famous for the production of rhubarb

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ORIGIN

The Oxford English Dictionary dates the name “rhubarb triangle” to a 1965 textbook mentioning pre-war trains called Rhubarb Specials that ran from the West Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle to London.

The word rhubarb is from the 14th century from the Old French rubarbe, which came from the Latin rheubarbarum and Greek rha barbaron.

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A PROTECTED TRIANGLE

In recent years, the Triangle has been officially recognised as a “Protected designation of origin”, which essentially means that only rhubarb grown within the Triangle can advertise itself as true Yorkshire forced* rhubarb. This is similar to the case of champagne produced from the grapes of the Champagne region of France.

* Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum) is an out of season rhubarb that is first grown outside for a period of two years so that the exposure to frost toughens the roots. After initial exposure to the frost, the rhubarb is lifted from the ground and placed into forcing sheds.

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TRANSATLANTIC RHUBARB

United Kingdom: rhubarb compote, as well as being used in the typical pies, tarts and crumbles, is also combined with whipped cream or custard to make what’s known as “rhubarb fool”.

United States: the common usage of rhubarb in pies has led to it being nicknamed “pie plant”, by which it is referred to in 19th century cookbooks. In the US, rhubarb is also often paired with strawberries to make strawberry-rhubarb pie — rhubarb purists jokingly consider this “a rather unhappy marriage”.

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GETTY HATED RHUBARB

At a dinner party one evening, the oil magnate John Paul Getty hosted fourteen distinguished guests at his palatial English country castle, Sutton Place. The food, one later recalled, was “horribly bland” and, for dessert, everyone was served stewed rhubarb, with one exception: a delicious single bowl of ice cream smothered in strawberries was placed at the head of the table for the host.

“Why do we all have to eat rhubarb while you gorge on ice cream?” a feisty guest asked her host. The reply came as a shock “The garden’s full of rhubarb”, Getty explained, “I hate the stuff, and someone has to eat it.”

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Wakefield Council holds an annual festival in February, celebrating the RHUBARB TRIANGLE’S historical links and promoting the surviving rhubarb industry.”

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THANKS to Jamie for suggesting today’s OWAD

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HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40